Is there any "organic" weed killer available at all? I want to try to avoid the round-up solution if I can. I have a customer who is needing a weed killer for next year and I am trying to find a "non-synthetic" option for him. This will be to spray and kill the weeds before he works the ground for a food plot for deer hunting.

Is there any "organic" weed killer available at all? I want to try to avoid the round-up solution if I can. I have a customer who is needing a weed killer for next year and I am trying to find a "non-synthetic" option for him. This will be to spray and kill the weeds before he works the ground for a food plot for deer hunting.

Any ideas?

Natural Weed Control

Weeds also can be controlled naturally 2 ways. Organicly and CulturallyOrganic weed control

Soil pH is one of the the most important weed control factors. Most weeds thrive in soils with a pH of 7.0 or higher. Adjusting the soil pH to the ideal pH for the turf will greatly reduce lawn weed presence.

Soil Conditioning for Turfgrass

Grass pH Ranges

pH Low

pH High

Ideal

BAHIAGRASS

ARGENTINE PENSACOLA <TIFTON

6.0

7.5

6.7 – 6.8

BENTGRASS

*****IAL & CREEPING

5.6

7.0

6.3

BERMUDA HYBRIDS & COMMON

5.6

7.0

6.3

BLUEGRASS

5.7

7.4

6.5 – 6.6

BUFFALO

5.6

7.0

6.3

CARPETGRASS

6.0

8.0

7.0

CENTIPEDE

4.3

5.8

5.0 – 5.1

FESCUE RED & CREEPING

5.6

6.8

6.2

FESCUE TALL

5.6

7.0

6.3

RYE ANNUAL

5.8

7.4

6.6

ST. AUGUSTINE

6.3

7.8

7.0 – 7.1

ZOYSIA

5.5

7.0

6.2 – 6.3

Only St. Augustine turf has an ideal pH of 7.0.

Lowe's and Wal-Mart both carry easy to use inexpensive (less than $10.00) pH meters.

Soil pH can be lowered using sulfur and iron. Besides lowering pH, these benefit your lawn in other ways.

Iron (Fe)
Iron makes for healthy, dark green growth. As with magnesium, iron is essential for photosynthesis. Iron is necessary for chlorophyll formation, and without it, plants wouldn’t be able to carry out essential cellular functions.

Sulfur (S)
One of the secondary macronutrients, sulfur helps plants maintain their dark green color. Mainly, plants use sulfur to create essential proteins. In grasses, sulfur is essential for nitrogen-fixing nodules, and necessary in the formation of chlorophyll. Plants use sulfur in the processes of producing proteins, amino acids, enzymes and vitamins. Sulfur also helps the plant’s resistance to disease, aids in growth, and in seed formation.

Lawn sulfur and iron both come in concentrated liquid forms for easy application.

Cultural weed control

Most weeds do poorly when shaded. Most also have a low growing nature. Mowing our turf at a height above the weed height wil allow your grass to shade and thus, control lawn weeds.

Nature's Lawn has developed an organic weed control product that should be available in all sates next spring.

2-4-D would work for spraying the yard to kill weeds but not the grass. Farmers use 2-4-D in cornfields to kill weeds but it wont kill corn because corn is basically a grass and comes from the grass family. I cant remember if its a restricted chemical for sure but i think its not.

2-4-D would work for spraying the yard to kill weeds but not the grass. Farmers use 2-4-D in cornfields to kill weeds but it wont kill corn because corn is basically a grass and comes from the grass family. I cant remember if its a restricted chemical for sure but i think its not.

2-4-D

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified 2,4-D among the phenoxy acid herbicides MCPA and 2-4-D as a class 2B carcinogen - possibly carcinogenic to humans. A 1995 panel of 13 scientists reviewing studies on the carcinogenicity of 2,4-D had divided opinions, but the predominant opinion was that it is possible that 2,4-D causes cancer in humans.
A 1990 study of farmers in Nebraska, even when adjusting for exposure to other chemicals, found that 2,4-D exposure substantially increased the risk of Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). A 2000 study of 1517 former employees of Dow Chemical Company who had been exposed to the chemical in manufacturing or formulating 2,4-D found no significant increase in risk of mortality due to NHL following 2,4-D exposure, but did find an increase in risk of mortality due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Steve